Incandescence
by DesolateHearts
Summary: As ambassador to Suna, Sakura begins to see a lot of the Kazekage. She notices that though he is stressed and tired, his skin seemed to have a glow about it. Maybe it was only Sakura's eyes, or perhaps just Incandescence. Sakura would find out. GaaSaku.
1. The New Ambassador

The first thought Sakura had about Suna was that it was damn hot. It wasn't so much an opinion as it was an indisputable fact. The notion remained true to this day, years after her initial visit, on her fifth trip to Suna.

It was that very same thought that popped into the young kunoichi's head every morning as she stretched awake in her rented room. It was that thought that reminded her every day - she was not at home.

She didn't regret becoming the ambassador to Suna. She loved the village, and many of its people. However, there's just no place like home, and for Sakura home was Konoha.

As Sakura was musing on about Konoha, there was a knock at the door. She sighed, recognizing the harsh pounding as Temari's. As former ambassador to Konoha, and current assistant to the Kazegake, it was her job to make Sakura feel welcome. The Konoha nin couldn't bear to tell the older kunoichi that she was failing miserably.

"Sakura? You're needed for a meeting!" the woman called through the door.

"I'll be right out," Sakura replied, scrambling out of the bed to get dressed. She grabbed the nicest looking clothes out of her pack and hurriedly donned them. She quickly slipped on her shoes and nearly ran to the door.

Temari gave her a once over. "Your shirt's on inside out," she pointed out.

Sakura looked only to see that her shirt was not inside out. She glared at Temari, who smirked back at her "Made ya look!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Very funny."

Temari smiled and turned on her heal. "Let's go, Gaara doesn't like to wait."

Sakura followed. She had picked up Kakashi's terrible habit of tardiness, and had learned the first day that the Kazekage would not tolerate it. He had been slightly upset about it, and coming from him it was scary.

Gaara was no longer the horrible mosnter who had nearly destroyed Lee's career as a shinobi. He didn't carry the ichibi inside if him anymore, but was by no means a lesser shinobi. He was probably one of the strongest leaders Suna had ever had... And he scared the shit out of Sakura.

Temari had caught on the that fear from the start, and had promised Sakura that nowadays, he was practically harmless. She had also sworn that she would try to stay at Sakura's disposal so that her contact with the scary boy was limited. That was when Sakura grew to genuinely like Temari.

But the fear remained as she stepped into the Kazekage's conference room. She was greeted, and returned the 'hello's' with a 'good morning,' and took her seat. A few moments passed before her emerald eyes met the jade of the Kazekage's.

"Thank you all for being prompt and present," Temari began, before taking her seat at Gaara's side.

Temari explained that the meeting was mostly about the current shortage of medical ninja and supplies due to the sudden increase in attacks on Suna ninja around Wind's border.

Sakura had not known about this, but immediately offered her assistance. No one argued, and she caught an expression of gratitude on the Kazekage's face, returning it with a small smile.

"Well that nearly solves the staff problem, but what about supplies?" Temari pointed out.

"Konoha is more than willing to donate supplies to an ally in time of need. But honestly, i believe the primary concern should be the attacks, and the motives behind them."

Gaara nodded, but the other council members looked a little shocked. Sakura guessed that they were either flustered by her certain, authoritative tone, or were surprised that she had a genuine concern for Suna's people. The last ambassador, they had discovered, hated Suna.

"Haruno-san is right," Gaara agreed, "Squads should be set up around the boarder of wind country."

"Konoha, I'm sure, will be willing to set up some of our own ninja along the border of Wind and Fire," Sakura chimed in, "A messenger should be sent to inform the Hokage."

"You seem quite confident in our alliance, kunoichi," a man whose name Sakura had not caught chimed in.

The Konoha nin glared at him, "You may call me Sakura, or Haruno. 'Kunoichi' is not a name, it's an occupation," her tone had an obvious hint of anger in it, and the man visibly shrank away from her. She continued, "And I am so confident because I am personally aquainted with the current Hokage, the current Kazekage, and the future Hokage. The friendship between sand and leaf is concrete, and i would stake my life on it."

Everyone seemed taken aback by her brash statement, and she realized she may have gone overboard.

"If no one has anything else to add, this meeting is adjourned." the Kazekage said, feeling the need to end the awkward council.

Sakura noticed the man that had doubted her leave quickly, and smirked to herself. She was standing when she felt a hand on her arm. The kunoichi was a little surprised to see that hand belonged to Gaara.

"If you would accompany me to my office," he half asked, half ordered.

Sakura looked to Temari, but knew that the Sand kunoichi could not save her from the wrath of the Kazekage, even if he was her little brother. She sighed and nodded, following the red haired man to his office.

Sakura immediately jumped to her own defense. "I know that was out of line, Kazekage-sama, and I'm very sorry, I just-"

Gaara held a hand up to stop her. "You are not in trouble, Haruno-san."

Sakura blinked. "I'm not?"

She didn't know he was capable if smiling, but he did. It was small, and tentative, but Sakura didn't fail to notice that it made him incredibly more handsome.

"I actually wanted to thank you," he surprised her, "Suichi's been acting up in council meetings lately, and it was good for him to be put in his place."

"Oh," Sakura replied, simply, "Well, in that case, you're very welcome."

The smile returned for a moment, but then it was time for business. "A messenger will be sent tonight to Konoha. I would like for you to write the message, requesting precautionary troops on the border of our countries." Sakura nodded, "You will begin at the hospital tomorrow. I would like for you to work the evening shifts, because they are the most in need of assistance."

"Understood," Sakura smiled at him, but he didn't return it.

"Thank you, Haruno-san," he said, dismissing Sakura.

The medic turned to leave, but stopped and tyrned back to the Kazekage.

"Hey, Gaara," she called. The man looked up at her. He didnt realize that it was possible to emphasize the lack of an honorific, but some how this Konoha kunoichi had managed just that. She continued, "You can call me Sakura. We've known each other long enough to drop the formalities. And honestly, I've always found it to be just an excuse to claim difference." She thought for a moment. "Unless of course, you're too mysteriously superior to think if me as an equal..."

He smiled his tiny smile again, "I agree, Sakura. It is strange to refer to someone you know well so formally."

She smiled her bright smile at him, and left without another word.

Sakura stood from her desk and looked out the window. She had already written her official letter about the reserves along the border, but she could not for the life of her put down everything she wanted to say to her friends back home on paper.

If she had it her way, she would simply go to Konoha and inform them of the Kazakage's plans herself. Then she could just talk to everyone in person. But that wasn't going to happen. She was needed in Suna as ambassador, and now, as a medic.

She sighed and sat back down at her desk. Maybe a short nap would help. She set her head down, staring in the general direction of the window, and eventually fell asleep.


	2. A Deal

So, I spelt "Gaara" wrong all last chapter. I'm going to fix it, I just wanted to say sorry for being dumb :) Thanks for the reviews!

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><p>The sun was setting when she woke again.<p>

"Shit!" she cried out. She grabbed the paper and practically ran to the Kazekage's office.

The door was slightly open when she got there. She knocked lightly, but got no reply. She sighed. He was probably pissed. She entered the room to leave the papers on his desk. She was looking for a piece of paper to leave a note when she was distracted by the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Behind the Kazekage's desk was a balcony. And through that balcony, Sakura could see the sky of Suna right before dusk. Sakura always thought that this time of day was prettiest, but had never seen it so vast and remarkable, with no trees obstructing her view. She stepped out on the balcony and sighed. Maybe she could get used to living in the desert.

"You shouldn't enter someones office without permission."

Sakura gasped and turned, but saw no one.

"Up here."

Sakura looked to see the Kazekage, standing on the roof, arms crossed, expression blank.

"I'm so sorry," Sakura began, "I was dropping off some papers-"

"I already sent the messenger with a message of my own," Gaara informed her.

"Oh," Sakura blushed. He probably wrote about her unreliability. Tsunade would be pissed.

"So why did you venture so far into my personal quarters?" Gaara pressed, sitting at the edge if the roof.

"Oh, uh," She gestured to the sky, "I've never seen something so beautiul. I got distracted."

"It looks better to the west."

Sakura scoffed, "Except that there's a whole building in my way."

The Kazekage didn't respond instead, he offered his hand. Sakura wasn't sure how to react. She didn't need any help getting on the roof, but maybe it was more of an invitation, than assistance.

Well, she wouldn't pass up an opportunity to spend time with one of the most powerful shinobi of her generation. She took his hand, letting out a tiny squeak when sand gathered at her feet to push her up, and landed awkwardly on one knee on the roof.

Gaara stood, and she followed him to the peak of the roof. She hadn't realized that she was about to see the most beautiful thing she had ever been in the presence of. Sure, she had seen a sunset before, but not like this. Not so beautiful, and awesome as this.

"Wow," she breathed. It was all her brain could manage. She turned to tell him something, but realized that he probably wouldn't care. He was, after all, the Kazekage.

Gaara noticed, but misinterpreted it. Being used to Konoha nins fear, and kunoichi's fear, he assumed she would be fearful by default.

The words slipped out before he could even fully think them. "You don't have to be afraid of me," she looked at him, a little surprised, "I'm not a monster anymore."

To his surprise she glared at him. "You were never a monster! Don't let anyone tell you that!" He looked at her, shocked, "You were just misjudged, and that made you a little... psychotic."

Gaara smiled.

Sakura stared at his lips. She had never seen the man smile before that afternoon, and now it seemed to be the most common expression in his facial handbook.

"You have changed though," Sakura admitted. "You seem happier."

Gaara nodded. "I am."

Sakura nodded as well. "Although you haven't been eating enough, you're exercising too much, and you aren't getting near enough sleep."

The Kazekage smirked at her. "Show off," he teased, and she grinned at him.

"I think I like this new, less moody Gaara," she mused, mostly to herself.

He shrugged. "Most people do. So how did you deduce all of that information?"

Sakura took his hand in hers, "You're paler than usual, which is most likely due to a lack of iron, which means you're either a vegetarian or you're not eating, and I highly doubt the former. Your muscles are convulsing very slightly from being over worked. And you've got the darkest shadows under your eyes that I've ever seen. Although that could be permanent due to the fact that you spent the first decade and a half of you life sleepless," she paused for a minute, releasing his hand. She couldn't remember why she had taken it, perhaps to prove a point? "So," she began, changing her inner thoughts subject, "Have you been getting to sleep?"

Gaara shook his head. "Not nearly enough," he admitted, "A few hours every other night, if I'm lucky. And I haven't been very lucky."

Sakura nodded. "I can help, if you want." He looked at her, unbelieving. "I'm serious! As a top medic, I'm very educated in all sorts of therapy, including sleep therapy."

The kazekage though for a moment. "So what would it entail?"

"Relaxation techniques to help you calm yourself and, if you're comfortable with it, hypnosis."

His eyes narrowed a fraction.

"Not the 'when I clap my hands you'll become a chicken,' hypnosis, legitimate hypnosis. Just to help you sleep, of course."

The two shinobi stared each other down for a while. Then, just before Sakura lost her mind, the Kazekage nodded.

"Okay," he agreed, "When can you start?"

"Tonight if you want," she offered.

He nodded again. "Where?"

It's best if we could do it in your room."

He looked at her, narrowing his eyes. "Why?"

She held up a finger, "First, it's best to use you relaxation techniqued in an area where you can just go to sleep," another finger, "Second, someone would have to have some serious balls to disturb us in your personal quarters."

Gaara shrugged, "So what does that say about you?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You walked into my office without permission."

She thought for a moment, "I guess I'm just pretty ballsy."

He laughed, very slightly, and Sakura joined in.

"So, today?"

He paused for a moment. "Fine," he sat down, cross-legged, "But after the sun sets."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Procrastinator," she joked, but she sat beside him.

They sat there, sitting on the roof of the Kazekage's tower, and watched the sunset together. Sakura would look over at Gaara every so often. He skin had a glow about it. She had noticed that, although he was extremely pale, he was very warm. Perhaps the glow was incandescence, the emission of light from a body due to its temperature. Or maybe his chakra? Maybe it was only the glow from the sun, but Sakura thought it was beautiful.

He noticed her looking at him, but did nothing. There they sat, until finally the sun was gone, and they made their way for Gaara's room to start the therapy.


End file.
